FULL TIME That set piece brings the game to a disappointing close for Norwich. Arsenal come away with three well-deserved points, and go level on points with Chelsea and Spurs (who have one and two games in hand respectively). Arsenal were a class apart for long stretches, but relied, as ever, on Robin Van Persie. He was phenomenal. One easy goal, one great finish, and a superb display of passing. Walcott was unlikely to miss out on a goal at the end, but neither he nor Gervinho looked all that likely to score, despite having the beating of their fullbacks throughout. Norwich, who stay in ninth place, passed the ball impressively at times, but struggled to create chances. Most of their scoring opportunies seemed to come about when Per Mertesacker took too long to make a clearance. He was looking decidedly relieved as he shook hands with the losing team after the final whistle.

90 min+3 A shot or a cross? I'm not sure what Johnson was trying there, but the ball was right at Sczczesny.

90 min+2 A free-kick for Norwich, 25 yards from goal and to the right of the D, after a foolish foul from Santos on Holt. A final chance...

90 min+1 Benayoun threads a frighteningly good through-ball between the centrebacks for Walcott, whose angled run takes him away from goal. Rather than shooting, he plays it safe, and Arsenal make with the interminable passing once again.

89 min That's an even more ambitious effort, from Simeon Jackson, who replaced Pilkington for City. A powerful hoof from thirty yards, a fearsome hit but a good few feet over the bar.

88 min Walcott lets fly from a difficult position, a good way out and at a tight angle on the right. It's a great effort that clatters off the near upright, with Ruddy nowhere near it.

87 min It looks like another error from Mertesacker, taking too long once again and letting Grant Holt barge him off the ball. Holt has a shooting chance, but the whistle's blown for a foul against the defender.

85 min Arsenal are keeping the ball, not trying anything too fancy, just probing, and Norwich have to chase the ball for about a minute. There's a desultory cheer around the ground when they win it back. There's still time for the equaliser, mind.

83 min Bennett races Koscielny to a loose ball in Norwich's inside-left channel. He goes in high, and Koscielny takes a heroic tumble, despite minimal contact. A foul, but not the second booking the defender was looking for. Phil Dowd gives both men a talking-to.

82 min Another glorious pass from Van Persie, this one a floating, arcing ball over the defence towards Benayoun in the inside-left channel. Barnett tackles.

81 min Tierney is booked for bringing down Theo Walcott as the Arsenal man dashes past him yet again on the right touchline. He's done well to keep his nose clean so far, to be honest - he's had a very difficult afternoon.

79 min Koscielny thumps a ball towards Van Persie from inside his own half. RVP takes the ball on his chest, trying to cushion it into the path of Ramsey. It's cut out.

77 min Wenger has had enough of Gervinho's nonsense. He's replaced by Benayoun.

76 min A sequence of chances for Arsenal, breaking with pace. Walcott makes headway down the right and pulls the ball back for Arteta, whose effort is punched clear. It falls to Ramsey, who chips a sumptious pass all of 15 feet, over the defence and into Gervinho's path. From a tight angle, he shoots straight at Ramsey.

75 min Holt is clean through, muscling Mertesacker off the ball outside the area and rushing goalwards. But the whistle's blown for a foul.

73 min Another terrific pass from Van Persie, who's caused havoc when he's dropped deep this afternoon. It's another high through-ball for the charging Ramsey, who is tackled by Barnett just before he can pull let fly.

71 min Look up 'towering header' in your sporting dictionary. That's a picture of Thomas Vermaelen, clearing the danger after a dangerous ball in from Pilkington. That was bound for the head of Grant Holt (who replaced Hoolahan a few moments ago).

70 min Norwich have a free kick in a dangerous position after a foul by Koscielny. Pilkington to whip it in.

68 min Gervinho ambles through the defence and sets the ball up nicely for Walcott, who tries a David Villa-esque curler. Straight at Ruddy. He's not very good at those, is he?

67 min Bennett goes into the book for scything down Gervinho as the Ivorian looked to turn towards goal.

66 min A great chance for Pilkington, who has a blink-and-you'll-miss-it opportunity to turn the ball past Szczesny as Bennett's low ball in skids in his direction. he doesn't get much of a connection, and his effort flies wide.

64 min Mertesacker thumps a long ball upfield for Walcott, who cushions it perfectly and looks for a pass. Nobody's in a good position, so the move slows to a halt. Then Arteta gives the ball away in midfield, but Johnson has nobody to pass to.

62 min That goal means Van Persie - owner of one of football's most famously brittle ankles - has now scored more than half of Arsenal's goals this season.

60 min GOAL! Norwich 1-2 Arsenal (Van Persie) Russell Martin gives the ball away in the centre circle, letting Song nick it from his feet. Song advances on goal, with the defence in shreds and Gervinho to his left with a straightforward one-on-one with Ruddy. Tellingly, Song waits for Van Persie to appear to his right and plays him in. He chips the ball daintily over the keeper, an inch-perfect finish. 31 goals in 29 league games for him.

57 min Arsenal are pushing fiercely for the winner now, and Arteta goes in a bit recklessly on Tierney over by the touchline. A free-kick, and a bit of breathing space for the hosts.

55 min A flurry of chances for Arsenal. First Ramsey comes close from close range after collecting Walcott's pull-back, then Van Persie gives Gervinho his best chance yet to get rid of the aura of uselessness which has surrounded him in front of goal so far this afternoon. Van Persie turns and feeds a perfectly weighted pass between Barnett and Martin for Gervinho, who gets there in plenty of time, rounds Ruddy - and fails to stick the ball into the goal. His effort bounces off the keeper and out into danger, but Norwich scamble it clear. The aura shines brighter than ever.

52 min It's a good effort, hit with venom and dipping over the wall, but it's right above Szczesny, who leaps to save quite comfortably.

51 min Vermaelen is pulled up for a foul on Crofts just to the right of the D, and Norwich have a free-kick in a good position. Pilkington to take...

50 min Walcott has space to run into on the right flank, and speeds towards the penalty box. His clever reverse plays Van Persie through, and he's shaping to shoot from a tight angle to the right of goal when the flag goes up for offside.

48 min Bradley Johnson loses the ball with a misdirected hoof upfield for Morison, then at the other end Gervinho did his usual trick of shimmying nimbly past the first two challenges, then losing the ball and clutching his head in dismay, ruffling his mysterious hair.

46 min The second half gets underway. Elliot Bennett replaces David Fox for the home side, giving Norwich a little extra upfront and possibly easing the pressure on Kyle Naughton, who had a torrid first half against Walcott and Gervinho.

HALF TIME A very enjoyable 45 minutes of football. Arsenal looked likely to humilitate their hosts early on, creating chances seemingly at will. But that storyline was derailed by Morison's opener. Norwich defended well after conceding the equaliser, and things are nicely poised for the second half.

Oh brilliant, it's Christmas. This means viewers are treated to a Stella Artois ad, 30-seconds of a twee French scat version of 'Tis the season to be jolly', while jolly Christmas people cavort onscreen, having japes in the snow and making livebloggers think about what it'd be like just to stop breathing forever.

45 min+1 Norwich look like they're trying to pass the half out, exchanging the ball deftly in neat triangles around the centre circle. Eventually Walcott nicks the ball and steams past Haughton, but can't pick out a colleague. At the other end, Morison finds himself with the ball by the touchline with nobody to pass to. He passes to Szczesny, and that's that for the half.

44 min Walcott's having a very good game, but that wasn't so smart. He cuts inside Haughton with ease, and has time to either forge a path towards goal or pick out a team-mate. He opts for a lame ball infield to Van Persie, ignoring the presence of Barnett who steals in all too easily to intercept.

43 min Van Persie turns away from his marker, back in midfield again, and thumps a pass upfield to Walcott, who's switched places with Gervinho and is now on the left. The pass is overhit and goes out for a goal kick.

42 min That's a great challenge from Barnett, dispossessing Van Persie with a robust and perfectly timed tackle inside the penalty area as the Dutchman tried to turn to open up a shooting chance.

40 min The game's cooled down a bit after a frantic, and highly enjoyable, first half an hour. Arsenal are seeing most of the ball now, but aren't breaking Norwich down as easily as they were in the opening stages.

38 min Arsenal win a corner, which again is defended comfortably by their hosts. Ruddy spots Morison unmarked in Arsenal's half, and hurls the ball very accurately into his path. Morison goes for a very audacious chip from the corner of the penalty area, which flies way over the crossbar. In his defence, it's worth pointing out that the sun is glaring pretty fiercely into Szczesny's eyes at that end of the pitch, so that attempt wasn't perhaps as ludicrous as it would normally seem.

37 min In the 10 minutes since the goal, Norwich have had 54 percent of the possession. A terrific response. They've been knocking the ball around with much improved confidence, playing some nice football though not creating any clear chances.

35 min Houlihan intercepts a pass, advances on the penalty area, and picks out Johnson. He goes for a too-clever-by-half backheel to return the ball to Houlihan, which Vermaelen snaps up.

33 min Barnett wants a penalty - for handball I think - as Arsenal see off a corner. Phil Dowd didn't spot the incident, whatever it was.

31 min Ruddy has to sprint smartly off his line to beat Gervinho to a loose ball, in the middle of his half. Then Vermaelen slides in with an enthusiastic and forceful tackle to dispossess the dithering Morison.

28 min A promising attack for Norwich comes to an end as Morison makes a hash of his attempt to bring down a long ball to the right of goal. His clumsy first touch takes him towards the touchline, then his clumsier second sends the ball out for a goal-kick.

26 min GOAL! Norwich 1-1 Arsenal (Robin Van Persie) His 14th in 17 games, and maybe the easiest of the lot, as Walcott humiliates Tierney again and curves a perfect low pass across goal. Van Persie has a tap-in from four yards. Gervinho, incidentally, almost messed things up with an attempt at a twirling backheel as the ball came his way. Unluckily for him, he missed it (you could charitably say he left it); luckily for Arsenal, somebody more reliable was stationed right behind him.

24 min Unbelievable - a third crucial intervention from Russell Martin. Van Persie intercepts a pass in the middle of the pitch and angles a pass through for Gervinho to chase. He's clean through but makes his intentions to clear to Ruddy as he goes for the old nonchalant finish into the bottom corner. Ruddy gets enough on it to slow it up, and Martin clears off the line.

23 min Arsenal slice Norwich apart with a few incisive passes, only to fall agonisingly short of a goal yet again. Gervinho finds Santos outside him, and Santos' beautiful deep cross finds Van Persie at the far post. His looping header is goal-bound, or there to be tapped in by Walcott, but Martin is there with another goal-line clearance.

21 min The slightly podgy Andre Santos trots down the left touchline, fakes his marker and cuts inside onto his right for a pretty ambitious curler from distance. It's an easy save for Ruddy.

18 min Well welll well. That should liven things up. And they were already pretty lively. Van Persie comes close for a third time, finding the side netting from a tight netting.

16 min GOAL! Norwich 1-0 Arsenal (Steve Morison) Ouch. Fair to say that was not Per Mertesacker's finest hour. he takes way too long to get rid of the ball as he takes possession just inside his own box, seemingly unaware of Morison bearing down on him. All credit to Morison, who sees the chance and seizes it, bundling the defender off the ball and sliding it past Szczesny for his third goal in three games. Arsene Wenger does his "It's a travesty!" bit on the touchline, claiming Mertersacker was fouled, but the glum look on the culprit's face says that he wasn't.

14 min Arsenal are doing a pretty intense pressing job once the ball gets into their half - Crofts tries to make some headway down the right, but is biffed off the ball by first Song, then Arteta.

12 min Norwich defend the set-piece well again.

11 min What a fantastic block from Russell Martin! Gervinho slaloms in from the right, looking very likely to lose the ball with all manner of extravagant footwork, but he manages to pick out Walcott. Walcott fakes Tierney all too easily, cuts onto his left, and aims a curler at the far post from 15 yards or so. It's goal-bound but Martin gets there with a mid-air hoik at full-stretch to give Arsenal a corner.

9 min Pilington goes for a give-and-go with Morison to get past Santos into the Arsenal box. Morison's return ball is angled away from his team-mate. A great, open start to the game.

8 min More smart stuff from Norwich down the right, passing and moving well and almost breaking through the Arsenal defence. Pilkington's final ball is cut out. Van Persie then drops deep to collect the ball and pings a fantastic through ball up right through the centre for Ramsey, who's charging into the penalty area. He can't control.

6 min It's looking a bit too easy for Arsenal at the other end of the pitch, though. Santos advances down the left, and slides a pass through two yellow shirts infield towards Van Persie, who controls and turns with a sublime first touch on the edge of the box, and lashes a left-footed shot a foot or so wide.

5 min A little spell of neat passing from Norwich, deep in Arsenal's half by the left touchline. Eventually the ball comes to Houlihan, who tries to flick a clever angled first-time ball over the top for Pilkington, who didn't anticipate it.

4 min Better from Norwich, as Pilkington - who's started on the left - picks out Morrison on the left-hand corner of the Arsenal area. He's pressured into losing the ball before he can pick out a team-mate.

2 min A pretty scary start for the home side, this. Gervinho jogs into the box from the left, not under much pressure, and pulls a dangerous ball back to the onrushing Walcott. His shot is deflected wide, and Norwich see off the danger from the corner.

1 min Arsenal kick off and pass the ball comfortably around in defence for a while before Santos tries and fails to pick out Gervinho on the flank. And there's immediately a chance for Van Persie! Walcott gets too much space on the right and pulls it back from Van Persie, who rolls a scuffed shot wide from around about the penalty spot.

12.41 The teams stride out into the sunshine at Carrow Road.It's the established Wilshere-less, Sagna-less first XI for Arsenal, apart from the inclusion of Per Mertesacker, who replaces the injured Carl Jenkinson. That'll mean one of Vermaelen and Koscielny will shift to right back. Grant Holt is dropped from the side that lost 3-2 to Villa the other week, replaced by David Fox.

12.35 Paul Lambert insisted this morning that it's not all about Robin Van Persie, while making it clear that his team has been instructed to be disrespectful to the visitors.

“It’s not just about him. I think it’s the whole team you have to try stop because I am pretty sure if you asked him he would say he needs the service of the other lads to do what he is doing. He is scoring goals like it is going out of fashion, but we have to try and do something.

“You can see the speed with which they counter-attack. That is the major difference in the league. When you are attacking, you have to be so clued in at the back. Defenders can’t concentrate on what your team might be doing in the final third. They have to be alert because good teams can hurt you so quickly. That is something we have to be really switched on. Even though you respect Arsenal once that whistle blows there is no respect.”

12.32 Opta Joe on Twitter:"5 - Arsenal have not won five Premier League games in succession since March 2010. Target."

12.25 Here's some Arsene Wenger news, fresh off the wires. Asked by L'Equipe, the French sports magazine, if he would still be with the Arsenal next season, the 62-year-old replied: "I will consider it at the end of the season. I have two years left on my contract.

"But with me or someone else, it makes no difference. Who comes after me must have the basics to achieve success. We'll see in December where we can finish. It was necessary to reconstruct the squad in a climate where we were lacking confidence," he said. "It takes time."

He said he doesn't consider Arsenal a long-term project any more. “No. For me we're now talking short term, it's obvious," he explained, going on to complain about the much-lamented departures of Nasri and Fabregas.

"For the first time I lost young players, who were reaching maturity. I suffered. It's painful to lose key men you have invested a lot in. [Bad results] broke the squad. I often call it 'the season of the last minute'."

A few weeks ago, when Arsenal were down in the Premier League's nether regions, a lot of Arsenal fans might have been pleased by this news. Now I'm not so sure.

2.20 Hi there. Good weekend? Yeah? Well, here's some news for you: it's about to get marginally better, as you read this blow-by-blow account of the action as Arsenal, playing decently once again, take on the medium-flyers of Norwich City. That's right, we're talking about some seriously incremental improvements to the overall quality of your day off, right here. Let's get ready to rumble at a moderate volume.

Last time these sides metwas in 2005. Thierry Henry nabbed a hat-trick and Ljungberg got one as Arsenal won 4-1 at home. Time before that, Arsenal won 4-1 away. Time before that, they won 5-1. Handsome scorelines for the Gunners, and maybe there's an element of nostalgia in Arsene Wenger's announcement that he isn't ruling out a loan move for Henry in January. You have to go back to 1984 for the last time Norwich beat Arsenal at Carrow Road. (Well, you don't have to. In fact, you couldn't go back to 1984 even if you wanted to. Sorry for bringing it up.)

Norwich - yet to keep a clean sheet so far this season, and just a few points above the relegation zone, despite the appearance of mid-table solidity - will be hard pushed to repeat that result this afternoon. But four away defeats so far this term for the visitors will be encouragement for Paul Lambert's side, who boast a pretty impressive home record of W2, D2, L1.

Since you're here, check out this footage of this game from 1989. Norwich contrived to lose 4-3 after leading 2-0 at half-time, conceding two penalties in the last quarter of an hour. Then they had a fight. It gets fighty around the 4 minute mark.